[PRCo] Re: Troop trains

[Bob Rathke]

Dwight, 



49 year old memories! On my 1962 trip , the Greyhounds were Scenecruisers which had restrooms. They traveled on US 66, and (where completed) on I-40. There were numerous rest stops at Greyhound Post Houses.  Westbound, we got into St. Louis around 4 am and had a couple of hours until our connecting bus left for Los Angeles.  I remember watching St. Louis PCC's running near the bus station, but it was still dark and I didn't have a tripod along.  I had a 35mm camera, but that  was i n the days of low ASA Kodachrome 10 a nd 25.   



Bob 





  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dwight Long" <dwightlong at verizon.net> 
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
Cc: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 7:43:59 PM 
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Troop trains 

   Bob   On my trip to Rolla I had spent the day riding the IT suburban 
service= and fotting SLPS before heading west to Rolla. Â The Dog on which I 
ro= de had no restroom--it was an early version of the Highway Traveler 
series--and I well remember the rest stop on my trip. Â It was at a p= lace 
called "The Diamond," Â or something close to that and I think it = was on 
theold Rt.66. Â I was in desperate need of it, at any rate, hav= ing been 
lulled into a belief that the bus would have a restroom by virtue = of the 
fact that the one I rode into STL DID have such a facility! Â  And yes, that 
is the preferred pronunciation of Rolla! Â  Dwight 

May 10, 2011 04:20:13 AM, pittsburgh-railways at dement= ia.org wrote: 

I remembe= r stopping at the Post House in Rolla (RAWL-Luh) on a 
cross-country=C3=82&n= bsp;Greyhound trip in 1962. 



Bob 





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Herb Brannon" To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
Sent: Monday, May 9, 2011 9:46:= 25 PM 
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Troop trains 

I haven't heard that tow= ns name mentioned in quite a few years. 1957 was 
almost a decade before= my time there but I doubt if it changed very much. 
On Mon, May 9, 2011= at 21:02, Dwight Long wrote: 

>=C3=82&n= bsp; =C3=82 Â =C3=82 Â Herb =C3=82 Â Back in 1957 I was returni= ng 
east from Rolla, Mo., on the 
>Frisco's loc=3D al passenger train= , and we went into the hole at least 
once, 
>and I think tw=3D ice, = for a very long troop train. =C3=82 I learned 
laterthat it 
>w= as headed =3D to Ft. Leonard Wood. =C3=82 Â Dwight 
> 
>Ma= y 9, 2011 05:29:17 PM, pittsburgh-railways at dementi=3D a.org wrote: 
>= In the Summer=3D of 1964 I had a "seasonal" job with the City of Akron, 
>Street 
>&Hig=3D hway Dept, as a laborer on a McAdam pavi= ng crew. We had a three 
day 
>job,=3D in mid-August, on a city stree= t which ran along side the main 
>east-westrailroad tracks. These tr= acks served the Eire-Lackawanna, 
>Baltimore 
>&=3D Ohio = 
>and the Pennsylvania railroads. Every day we worked on that street= =3D we 
saw 
>troop train after troop train headed westbound. All th= e trains us=3D ed 
the 
>1930s Pullman cars you speak about. Just a f= ew months later in Ap=3D ril, 

>1965 
>I 
>departed, l= ike your brother, on a TWA flight headed for BCT =3D and AIT, 
as a 
>= Combat Engineer, at Ft Leonard Wood, MO. 
> 
> 
> 
&g= t; On=3D Sun, May 8, 2011 at 22:52, Bob Rathke wrote: 
>> 
&gt= ; >A couple of follow-ups, Fred: 
>> 
>> 
>&g= t; 
>>=3D - In March, 1963 I took my brother to Greater Pittsburg= h Airport 
where 
>he>boarded a TWA Constellation for his inductio= n in the Army at Ft. Kn=3D 
ox. 
>>Attached is a photo of my broth= er about to enter the door, look=3D ing 
back 
>>toward the camera= . 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>By 1964=3D -67, th= e Defense Department was sending a greater number of 
>>Pittsbu= =3D rgh inductees to basic training on trains from the PRR and 
P&LE >>=3D stations. I took photos of the 1930's Pullman cars kept in th= 
ose 
>stations>for use on the inductee trains. 
>> 
= >> 
>> 
>>- L=3D ast Fall, my uncle told me abou= t his rail trip to basic training 
in 
>1942> (previously, he had = never talked about his WWII experiences). His 
>dad=3D 
> 
= >>accompanied him to the P&LE station that day where he boarded = =3D a 
B&O 
>train 
>to 
>>Washington, D.C., and= then on to an Army base in=3D the South. Hhe said 
his 
>>parents= (my grandparents) didn't know that=3D he enlisted in the Army - 
they 
&= gt; >always thought that he had been dra=3D fted. 
>> 
>= > 
>> 
>>Last Fall he talked freely about his =3D e= xperiences in the U.S. and 
Pacific 
>>1942-45, and I furiously to= ok n=3D otes on everything he said. 
>> 
>> 
>&g= t; 
>>Bob 
>> 
>=3D > 
>> 
>= > 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>= 
>> 
>>=3D ; 
>> 
>> 
>>= 
>> 
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>&=3D g= t; From: "Fred Schneider" 
>>To: pittsburgh=3D -railways at dementia= .org 
>>Sent: Sunday, May 8, 2011 10:40:38 AM 
>>=3D ; = Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pennsylvania RR Heritage Passenger Train 
>>= 
>&=3D gt; Back on October 8th, 1958, I entered the army. The lo= cal 
recruiter 
>(yes=3D , 
>>guys, RA stood for ragged ass= ) gave me a ticket to Harrisburg on =3D the 

>Pennsy. 
>>M= y parents were on the station platform in Lancaster to=3D say good-bye. 
>>And dad had one last picture of the train disappeari=3D ng west w= ith one 
of 
>>those Pennsy business cars on the rear end of n=3D = umber 25. 
>> 
>>That was one hellish long day. Hours o= f processin=3D g and finally a bus 
to 
>>Philadelphia and another= bus to Fort Dix. An=3D d then standing in 
formation 
>for 
>= >an hour. Finally some a-hole serge=3D ant comes out of a building and s= 
ays, 
>>"Oh, you guys still here. Wel=3D l maybe we do something.= " And he sent 
usto 
>>dinner at 11 PM for wha=3D t was left over= in the reception center. Then 
to 
>>bed at 1 AM. Then =3D they w= oke us up again at 4 a.m. to tell us we were 
in 
>>the army now.= =3D 
>> 
>>Thanks Bob, for the memories. 
>>= 
>> 
>>-- A=3D ttached file removed by Ecartis and put = at URL below -- 
>>-- Type: im=3D age/gif 
>>-- Size: 1= 88k (192970 bytes) 
>>-- URL : 
>>http:=3D 
>// = 
>lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/TWAConstJackStairs63.= 
jpg.gif=3D 
> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>= 
> 
> 
>-- 
>Herb Brannon 
>In Cuyah=3D o= ga Valley National Park 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
&g= t; 


-- 
Herb Brannon 
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park